couldn’t hold a candle to Raphael when it came to parenting duties.
I’d been the lucky one. And I knew it.
Instead, I said, “He’s getting old. His mind is slipping.”
“It is not.”
“I know, but he’d go crazy if he knew I said it. You should tell him.”
Cutter laughed. “Why do I have the feeling he’s not on your good side right now?”
“Because you have good instincts.”
“Speaking of, have you seen Preston today?”
He’d tried to sound casual, but I picked up an undertone of worry in his voice. “This morning. Why?”
“I haven’t heard from her today. It’s just strange, that’s all.”
“She’s following around Dr. Paul today, so she’s pretty busy. Lots of pre-death patient interviews going on.”
“Do I want to know what that means?”
“Probably not.”
“Have you noticed that she’s been acting strangely lately?”
I smiled. “More than usual, you mean?”
“Lucy!”
“Not that I’ve noticed. Oh wait, it might be because of Orlinda.”
“Your psychic teacher?”
“She predicted Preston was going to have another big change.”
He laughed. “Well, that explains some things. Orlinda freaks her out.”
I knew.
“Her last prediction… Preston thought for sure I was going to propose to her. She kept leaving engagement ring pictures around the house, dropping hints that she liked round cuts better than square...”
“That’s crazy! You’ve only been seeing each other for a few months.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“Cutter?”
More silence.
“Oh. My. God! You’re thinking about proposing to Preston ?”
He coughed. “No... I mean, I don’t think so. But maybe Orlinda knows something I don’t.”
I needed to sit down. I glanced at my father’s fancy sofa and bypassed it. After I witnessed my parents fooling around on it, I could never sit on it again. I flopped into an overstuffed chair.
“Maybe,” Cutter went on, “that’s why I haven’t heard from her. After the last prediction, she was so embarrassed. Maybe now she’s playing hard-to-get?”
“This is Preston we’re talking about. She’s never played hard-to-get in her life. She’s about the most in-your-face person I know.”
“Well, something’s going on. Can you feel her out for me?”
“Maybe I can...”
“Okay, LucyD, what do you want?”
I loved that he used my mother’s nickname for me. She’d been calling me LucyD for as long as I could remember. It was a shortened version of Lucy Diamonds, which was taken from “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” My mother was a rabid Beatles fan and was a little...eccentric. She was Beatnik, flower child, and, earth mother, and Greek Goddess rolled into one.
“Maybe we can make a trade. Because I need your help with something.”
“What?”
“Reading the aura of a client, since Dad is out of town.”
“Lucy...”
“Oh, stop with that tone. I’m not asking you to give up your career and join the company.”
“Good. Because I get enough of that with Dad.”
Dad . I also loved that the word slipped into his vocabulary once in a while. “This is a special case.”
He sighed. “Okay. Set it up for this weekend, but you better come through for me with Preston .”
I was still wrapping my head around the whole engagement angle—and the fact that he’d obviously put some thought into it. “This weekend is perfect. It gives me time to track down my client.”
“Wait a sec. You don’t know where he is?”
“Not yet,” I said. “But I will find him. Make no mistake about that.”
Chapter Eleven
An hour later, I was back at the office, watching a locksmith work his magic. He was just about done swapping out the lock on the office door. He’d already reprogrammed the downstairs keycard reader.
I sat on the love seat in the reception area with my foot propped up and my phone in hand. I was going from worried about Sean to being angry with him. He had to know how frantic his
I’d been the lucky one. And I knew it.
Instead, I said, “He’s getting old. His mind is slipping.”
“It is not.”
“I know, but he’d go crazy if he knew I said it. You should tell him.”
Cutter laughed. “Why do I have the feeling he’s not on your good side right now?”
“Because you have good instincts.”
“Speaking of, have you seen Preston today?”
He’d tried to sound casual, but I picked up an undertone of worry in his voice. “This morning. Why?”
“I haven’t heard from her today. It’s just strange, that’s all.”
“She’s following around Dr. Paul today, so she’s pretty busy. Lots of pre-death patient interviews going on.”
“Do I want to know what that means?”
“Probably not.”
“Have you noticed that she’s been acting strangely lately?”
I smiled. “More than usual, you mean?”
“Lucy!”
“Not that I’ve noticed. Oh wait, it might be because of Orlinda.”
“Your psychic teacher?”
“She predicted Preston was going to have another big change.”
He laughed. “Well, that explains some things. Orlinda freaks her out.”
I knew.
“Her last prediction… Preston thought for sure I was going to propose to her. She kept leaving engagement ring pictures around the house, dropping hints that she liked round cuts better than square...”
“That’s crazy! You’ve only been seeing each other for a few months.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“Cutter?”
More silence.
“Oh. My. God! You’re thinking about proposing to Preston ?”
He coughed. “No... I mean, I don’t think so. But maybe Orlinda knows something I don’t.”
I needed to sit down. I glanced at my father’s fancy sofa and bypassed it. After I witnessed my parents fooling around on it, I could never sit on it again. I flopped into an overstuffed chair.
“Maybe,” Cutter went on, “that’s why I haven’t heard from her. After the last prediction, she was so embarrassed. Maybe now she’s playing hard-to-get?”
“This is Preston we’re talking about. She’s never played hard-to-get in her life. She’s about the most in-your-face person I know.”
“Well, something’s going on. Can you feel her out for me?”
“Maybe I can...”
“Okay, LucyD, what do you want?”
I loved that he used my mother’s nickname for me. She’d been calling me LucyD for as long as I could remember. It was a shortened version of Lucy Diamonds, which was taken from “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” My mother was a rabid Beatles fan and was a little...eccentric. She was Beatnik, flower child, and, earth mother, and Greek Goddess rolled into one.
“Maybe we can make a trade. Because I need your help with something.”
“What?”
“Reading the aura of a client, since Dad is out of town.”
“Lucy...”
“Oh, stop with that tone. I’m not asking you to give up your career and join the company.”
“Good. Because I get enough of that with Dad.”
Dad . I also loved that the word slipped into his vocabulary once in a while. “This is a special case.”
He sighed. “Okay. Set it up for this weekend, but you better come through for me with Preston .”
I was still wrapping my head around the whole engagement angle—and the fact that he’d obviously put some thought into it. “This weekend is perfect. It gives me time to track down my client.”
“Wait a sec. You don’t know where he is?”
“Not yet,” I said. “But I will find him. Make no mistake about that.”
Chapter Eleven
An hour later, I was back at the office, watching a locksmith work his magic. He was just about done swapping out the lock on the office door. He’d already reprogrammed the downstairs keycard reader.
I sat on the love seat in the reception area with my foot propped up and my phone in hand. I was going from worried about Sean to being angry with him. He had to know how frantic his
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